Thursday, December 6, 2012

Talk of the town

Gossip plays a profound role in disseminating and receiving
news, entertainment, and to caution others in small towns. Ever since I’ve arrived I’ve heard whispers
of bad men kidnapping Malagasy children so that their bones can be sold abroad
to foreigners. Graves are seriously
guarded because of this. When I ask what
exactly these bones are used for no one is able to give an explanation. Even though these bone collectors borders on
urban legend it is so deeply embedded in the local psyche I am unsure whether to
dismiss it simply as myth. Even highly
educated people with influence are convinced this is true and will give me specific
examples and “proof” of these occurrences.

There was one time that I noticed a large crowd form around the commune
of my village. A twelve year old girl
was returned by her uncle’s wife since she was worried that the police were on
her tail for kidnapping her niece in the attempt to sell her to human
traffickers in the north. I heard about
the story for a week. Children are
constantly told by their parents to never play or walk by themselves at
night. The fear is pervasive. My community wouldn’t let me leave to go to
the forests or neighboring communes if I wasn’t accompanied by at least one
person.

I’ve been hearing more and more about a so-called satanic
club. Supposedly some foreigners came to
spread the message of Satan in Madagascar.
One can find whole articles written about it in Malagasy journals. Their method of indoctrination is by calling
with unknown numbers, threats, and promises of wealth to those in desperate
situations. Perhaps you can think of
them as the arch nemeses of a missionary.

So these are just a couple examples of stories that are
discussed with hushed voices and believed by many without any concrete
evidence. To be honest I’m a little
freaked out myself. No one knows whether
these things are really true, half-true, or simply make believe but it has enough
of an impact on ones mentality to influence how one acts including me. So you may think that writing about this on
the internet is a bit mad but let’s be real.
How much of a threat am I putting myself in, especially if this is “common”
knowledge here?

Peace Corps in Madagascar

Hello my name is Christina, since 2011 I have served with Peace Corps as a Community Enterprise Development advisor in Madagascar. This blog is meant to chronicle my journey for the 27 months of my life abroad. I hope to share with you as well as to grow from my own reflections.